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Friday Snippet: Mama Connagher

I’m going to finish Vicki if she kills me! 

I’m finally, almost, at LAST!!  Ready to break 40K.  I’ve been stuck in the 30Ks for months.  Ugh.  But this morning Dark & Early, I finally hit the emotional candy bar scene that I’d been dreading and looking forward to.  Mama and Vicki on the same page.  Here’s just a tiny snippet, first draft only.

“Vicki.”  Mama smiled and held out her arms.  Her face felt frozen and brittle, but Vicki hugged her and gave her a dutiful peck on the cheek.  “How’s my girl?”

“Fine, Mama.”  She knew Mama wanted an introduction or at least an excuse about what was going on, but Vicki refused to give an inch.  Make her ask.  That keeps the advantage with me.

It worked at least a little, because Mama’s jaws tightened and her eyes narrowed.  She turned to Elias and held out her hand.  “Lt. Reyes.”

“Ma’am.”

“I thought you were out of the picture.”

Elias’s neck turned red, which was almost enough to make Vicki laugh out loud and relax.  Almost, but not quite, because she was more worried about the other man standing on her right. 

“I’m Jesse Inglemarre, ma’am.”

Mama took his hand, squeezing hard, evidently, because Vicki noted the way his face tensed a moment before melting away.  His shoulders relaxed, easing into the fierce grip like he did when she touched him, and she was suddenly so pissed, so mindless with jealousy and fury, that she couldn’t breathe.  Couldn’t move.  She wanted to strike out with violence, even against her mother.

“Ah,” Mama breathed out and released him.  “So the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.  When you picked Reyes, I honestly started to wonder.  I thought maybe I’d been wrong.”

“You’re never wrong, Mama.”  Vicki didn’t even try to keep the bitterness out of her voice.  At least that was better than violence.  “I learned that a long time ago.  Just another way I’ve let you down, right?”

“Is that what you think?”

Unperturbed by Mama’s unusually quiet voice, Vicki wrapped her arm around Jesse’s waist and pulled him against her.  With Elias on her other side, she felt shielded from the fiery darts Mama would lob at her.  “I know it.  First I quit my job at the firm after years of grad school and grueling overtime to make partner on a lark—to start my own clothing line.  Now I’m dating two men at the same time.  You’ve despaired of me ever getting married and settling down.”

“Quitting that law firm was the best thing you’ve ever done.”

Braced for an I-told-you-so tirade, it took Vicki several moments to realize that was actually a compliment.  Stunned, she could only stare at Mama, searching those dark eyes so like her own for the truth.  What she saw horrified her.

A tear streaked down her mother’s face.  “So that could only be your self-doubt, honey, if you think I’m disappointed in you.  Same with Reyes.  I knew you two were fire and oil, too explosive together.  You’d kill each other before you’d ever work out enough of a truce for marriage, but that’s exactly what you wanted.  In a way, you were punishing me by picking an upstanding man I had to like but you never intended marriage.  Don’t look at me like that, Beulah Virginia.”

Gaping, Vicki flinched at both the use of her real name and the sharper tone of voice, even while Mama dashed her tears away impatiently.

“Don’t stand there so innocently shocked.  I didn’t raise a wallflower or a doormat.  If you’d really wanted Reyes, then you would have demanded he marry you or get the hell out.  Forget this polite ‘dating’ and sometimes sleeping together crap.  Either you love him or you don’t.  Make up your damned mind and quit punishing me.”

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Winner: Launch Vicki’s Line

Thank you to everyone who helped me brainstorm Vicki’s new fashion line.  I didn’t end up using your recommendations, but talking about it helped me come up with the idea I’m going to use (for now):

Bound by Madame, with a swirling V on her label

The winner drawn from comments is:  Marie!  I think I already have your address, and I’ll drop you a note once I get your signed Dear Sir, I’m Yours in the mail!

Thanks, everyone!

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Easter Egg Hunt & Vicki Snippet

Welcome to all the Long & Short of It Scavengers!  My egg should be easy to find (look in the right sidebar) but I hope you stick around awhile and at least check out the Free Reads.

And since I missed the Friday Snippet last week (we were on vacation), and I was generally missing Vicki and the gang something fierce, I decided to post a bit more of Vicki’s story.  This scene is after the last one posted at VCONN Tower and occurs in Victor’s penthouse suite.  Hopefully you remember Mal — e.g. Malindre Kannes, the Mistress of Dallas — from Victor’s book.  She’s not just a side character, because she’s been clamoring for her own book lately.   *headdesk*

Warning:  first draft, subject to heavy revision later.  Genre:  Contemporary erotic (BDSM) romance. 

Mal, on the other hand, took one look at the man hovering at Vicki’s back and a huge smile broke across her face. “I knew it.” She hugged Vicki and gave him a slap on the shoulder. “Good for you, hon. If you need help housebreaking him, you give me a call.”

“I’m not a dog,” Jesse muttered.

With a low, wicked laugh, Mal stepped around Vicki and leaned in close to him. “If I tell you to heel, you will.”

He tipped his chin up and broadened his stance, but he didn’t take his hand off Vicki’s back. “No, I’m won’t. Not for you.”

A sharp thrust of emotion tore through her. Rage, jealousy, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she didn’t want Mal touching him, or Jesse doing anything for her. “He’s mine.”

“Of course he is, hon.” Mal drawled, not at all fazed by the sharpness in Vicki’s voice. “But do you know what he likes? Can you take care of his needs, whatever they are?”

She started to open her mouth, but Mal cut her off.

“If he needs you to put a collar on him, strip him naked, and force him to sleep on the floor at your bedside, can you do it? If he needs you to pick up a paddle and whip him until he can’t sit down, will you do it?”

Vicki felt him hovering at her back, nervous, yes, but terribly eager, his muscles tight, his heat rising.

Her stomach churned with anxiety. Her mind felt jammed full of images: Jesse naked, Jesse bound, Jesse begging, helpless, crying, screaming…for me.

A shudder wracked her shoulders and he pressed closer, dropping his forehead against her neck, burying his nose in her hair. “Do you need stuff like that?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered raggedly, but she felt his erection like a steel rod against her ass.

She lifted her gaze to Mal’s face, thoroughly prepared for a smug I-told-you-so look, but the other woman only nodded solemnly. “People think it’s all fun and games being a Dominant, but it’s not. We have a huge responsibility not only to keep the submissive safe but to also learn what they need and then, we have to provide it, no matter what that need requires. It’s your job to help him find out what he needs. You have to push his limits, explore his fears and his desires, and those desires will not always coincide with yours. If you care about him, you’ll make sure he gets those needs met. Your boy claims he doesn’t know what he wants, but I guarantee he’s got a few things in mind that will knock you reeling, and you haven’t even gotten started yet.”

Shaken, Vicki turned her attention to her brother, checking to see his reaction. He nodded as solemnly as his friend, his eyes dark and grim. “When I first met Shiloh, she scared me shitless.”

“Aw, poor baby,” Shiloh purred, turning away from her glowering Master and offering a hand to Jesse. “Let’s all get comfy before we scare the big bad Dominants too much.”

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Winner, Vicki, and Victor

The winner of the St. Patrick’s Day giveaway is:  Sheila of Bookjourney!  Sheila, please send me an e-mail at joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com with your snail mail address and I’ll send the book your way.

Now for the Vicki snippet.

This snippet was a long-awaited one, for me at least.  I couldn’t WAIT to get Victor on page, but once I got here, I ended up unsure if I pulled it off.  This scene is mostly dialogue back and forth, so in revision, I’ll probably have to bulk up emotions, non-verbals, etc. but it was still fun.  Longer than usual, but there really wasn’t a great place to stop.

Vicki wasn’t one to beat around the bush once she’d made up her mind. “I need your help.”

“So I see.” Victor sat down behind his desk. “Where’d you meet Jesse?”

“It’s a long story.”

Victor kicked back in his chair and propped his ridiculously ostentatious cowboy boots on his desk. “I’m all ears.”

She filled him on Jesse’s background, how she knew him, and the snowstorm that had brought him into her house. “Honestly, I had no intentions of letting him stay with me for more than the night. I wasn’t thinking about taking him in permanently, not at all. It just…happened. I couldn’t leave him on the streets, and now that he’s safe, I can’t stand the thought of letting him go back.”

“Wait a minute. You just said permanently. Are you thinking about keeping him?”

“You make him sound like a pet,” she grumbled. “All I meant to do was get him a job, help him get on his feet, and then go on my merry way.”

“And now?”

“He’s only been at my house two nights, and I can’t…” She dropped her gaze to her hands. Her knuckles were white, her fingers turning red from the fierce grip she kept on her emotions.

“You can’t what, sis?”

Her cheeks burned. “You’re my brother, V. The last thing I want to do is tell you all the things running around in my mind every single time I look at him. You’ll probably beat him up or something.”

“Nah,” he drawled. “That’s Conn’s department, not mine. Mama might horsewhip him though.”

Vicki jerked her head up and glared at him. “Nobody’s going to lay a finger on him, do you hear me?”

“Protective, aren’t we?” He gave her a sardonic, knowing smirk that made her grind her teeth. “What do you want me to do, sis? Give him a job? It’s done.”

She blew out her breath in a loud huff. He knew damned well what was eating her, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it. He was playing games with her, just like he’d done when they were kids. Part of the fun would always be making her ask. “I thought that’s all I wanted you to do, but things changed. Now that he’s in my house, I want him.” When her brother’s eyebrow shot up higher, she quickly added, “to stay. I want him to be safe.”

“And you want him.” She opened her mouth to deny it, but he put his feet down and leaned forward, all teasing gone. “You came to me for help because I’m a Master, not because I’m your brother.”

Miserably, she nodded. Tears burned her eyes. “It’s so complicated, V. I didn’t know it would be this hard. Once I saw him, I couldn’t leave him, and now…I don’t want him to leave. Elias is wavering between pissed and somewhat understanding. I’m afraid I’m going to lose him, but I want to take care of Jesse, and I’m afraid I’ll end up taking advantage of the situation. I’m scared.”

Victor came around before his desk, sat on the edge, and took her hands. “I suspected for a long time, sis, but I didn’t know for sure. Is Jesse the first man that made you feel this way?”

Nodding, she whispered. “He’s been abused and he’s had a terribly hard life. He came to me for help, and I don’t want to make it worse for him, but I can’t stop touching him. The last thing I want to do is screw him up even more.”

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking Jesse is submissive because of his life on the streets. I’m not a sadist because I was tortured or because Mama and Daddy had a private version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the ranch. That’s a load of crap and it always pisses me off when people assume we must have been abused or ‘ruined.’ I was born this way. You were born this way. Jesse is a born, natural submissive, and he proved himself to be a survivor. He can certainly survive you. In fact, he’d like nothing better than to survive whatever you can do to him.”

“Who’ll protect him from me?”

“You will,” Victor said softly, giving her an encouraging squeeze. “You’ve already protected him by seeking help. I’ve been waiting all these years, afraid to push you, afraid to ask too many questions, but I knew when it was time, you’d know where to go.”

“Did you have this talk with Conn?”

“Sure did. And he had this talk with me when I first met Shiloh.” He hesitated, his eyes narrowing on her face. “I had this talk with Mama, too. You really ought to be talking to her and not me.”

But Vicki was already shaking her head. “Are you insane? I can’t get Mama to agree with me that the sky is blue. What am I going to do, call her and say, ‘Oh, Mama, by the way, I took in a homeless man who keeps begging me to take him any way I want.’”

“Sure.”

The thought made her stomach churn. “Never in a million years. I’d rather talk to you. And why not Mal?”

His producer and friend, Malindra Kannes, had created several risque shows for VCONN, and as a result, was known as the Mistress of Dallas.

Victor nodded. “Mal would be glad to help you, especially if you think you might be into punishment.”

Pulling her hands back, Vicki covered her eyes and tried to calm the fire blazing across her cheeks. “I have no idea. I don’t know why it’s happening. Why now and not years ago?”

“Because you found him. All his life, he’s been searching for the place where he’d belong, exactly as he is. He wants to belong to you.”

“You could tell that just from meeting him?”

Victor ticked the signs off one by one. “He couldn’t meet my gaze until you took his hand.”

“He was nervous–”

“He stepped as close to you as he dared,” Victor continued, ignoring her interruption, “silently begging for your protection and sending a sign to me that he was taken. You told him to wait for you, and he sat where indicated without a single hesitation, eyes only for you, his body tuned to you. I bet that when you touch him, however innocently, he sinks immediately into submissive invitation. Eyes down, shoulders and body relaxed, eager and willing to do whatever you tell him, and I mean anything.”

“How did you know?” Her voice sounded hoarse to her ears. “Is it that obvious?”

He laughed softly. “Yes, to me, to anyone who knows how to read the signals. What does Elias have to say about this?”

“He’s tolerant, but also jealous. I don’t know how we’re going to work things out. We’d sort of broke up, but he’s back in my life now that Jesse is with me. I called him to run a background check the first night, and he went ballistic.”

“I imagine so. Look, sis, I’m the last person who’ll ever judge you. If you want to keep both of them, you’ll figure out a way. You said yourself that bringing Jesse home brought Elias back. Maybe it’s meant to be.”

Mentally, she had to pick her jaw up off the floor. “I never thought you’d tell me to just… just… I mean…It’s two men, V. Two. I can’t get my own mind around the logistics. Elias and I talked every once in a while about marriage, but he’s a cop. You know how dangerous his job is and the shitty hours he puts in. He’s already been through one divorce. I know he loves me, and I love him, but I don’t know that we could actually get married and not kill each other, even if the drug dealers don’t shoot him down on the street.”

“I will never say a word against Elias or Jesse or both. However, I will admit that I was worried about you each time I saw you and Elias together. You’re both so hard and fierce, so Dominant, whether you play any sort of games in the bedroom or not. You’re too much alike, and neither one of you will back down from the challenge. I suppose that’s why you two broke up?”

She nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. “You don’t think I’ll ever be able to work out a long-term relationship with him?”

“I never said that. In fact, you may have the answer sitting outside in my waiting room, if you can get Elias to accept him. First, though, you need to take care of Jesse. In his mind, he’s already given himself to you. It’s up to you to protect him, even from Elias and especially from yourself.”

“That’s what scares me to death.” She blew out a shaky breath. “I don’t want him to feel like he has to get a job and leave, but I don’t want him to feel beholden to me, either. I don’t want him to stay and put up with me and Elias’s shit because we helped him.”

“I can recommend a therapist who specializes in complicated BDSM relationships. You should both see her, immediately, before you get involved in an intimate relationship. Elias, too, and if he’s serious about you, committed to working out a life with you, then he will go.”

Vicki nodded. “Definitely. I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure I don’t mess this up. Elias…” She shrugged. “I don’t know. When I feel better myself, I’ll have a talk with him and we’ll go from there.”

Smiling, her brother leaned down and hugged her. “You’re quite a woman, Beulah Virginia Connagher.”

“Geez, why’d you have to go and call me that? Here I thought you were going to help me!”

Victor laughed. “You can always call me, Vicki. You can call Conn, too, although his advice usually involves a poetry quotation. I hope you paid more attention in English than I did.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t use any football metaphors.”

“Ah, I’ve been remiss. Let’s see, Jesse is on your team. You have to call the plays and lead the team. The entire team depends on you to tell them what to do, but Jesse will run anywhere on the field, just because you told him to go. Your whole season is on the line, and if you call the wrong play, somebody might get hurt. Jesse will run for you until he drops, and if you can get the ball to him, he’ll sacrifice his own body to the defenders in order to catch it. He’d rather die than let you down.”

She groaned. “Is Elias on the field, too?”

“Of course. He’s the linebacker trying to sack you.”

“I’ve been tackled once—even though we were playing flag football—and it sure wasn’t pretty. I don’t think I like this game, V.”

“Yeah, I remember when that punk slammed you to the ground, even though the ball wasn’t anywhere near you. What happened to him on the next play, sis?”

“You and Conn both smoked his ass.”

Victor smiled and goose bumps raced down her arms. She suddenly wondered if that’s the smile Elias and Jesse saw on her face. “If you ever need help tackling Elias, call me. I’ll leave Jesse up to you.”

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Winner & Vicki Snippet

Thank you, everyone, for reading e-books!  Tina, you’re the winner of yesterday’s giveaway!  Please drop me a note (joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com) with your selection from my backlist and the format you’d like.

And now to the snippet!  Here, Vicki has taken Jesse on an innocent shopping trip, which doesn’t end up quite so…innocent. 

She turned around, looking for Jesse, and found him mesmerized by a white fluffy negligee a few rows back in the lingerie department. Slowly, she walked back toward him, trying to figure out why he found the silly thing so interesting. It was innocent and frilly, totally not her style. He’d already said she was red, passion, fire. Not meek and insipid white, let alone such a feminine, helpless looking outfit.

Her hackles rose just looking at the damned thing, but she tried to keep the bite out of her voice. “You’re not picturing me in that, are you?”

His cheeks flushed but he met her gaze with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders. “So sue me, I’m a man, and I think you’d be hot in it.”

“In this?” Incredulity rang in her voice and he smiled wider. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Remember the surprise factor.”

That took her aback. When choosing colors and patterns only by her personal preference, she’d created a solid but boringly conservative line, which was far from what she’d hoped to accomplish.

“I already knew you were strong, kind, gorgeous, and that once you make up your mind to do something, you do it one hundred percent all the way.” His voice roughened into a whiskey husky drawl. “I heard enough last night to know that you’re also uninhibited and sexy as hell.”

Now it was her turn to blush. He just had to get in a dig about what all he’d heard last night. “What’s your point?”

“If you were to deliberately pick out something to wear for Reyes, I bet you’d choose red or black, right? This is totally unexpected. It screams innocence and shyness, a direct contradiction to your personality. If you were to slip this little baby on for your cop, I guarantee he’ll swallow his tongue in surprise, and then blow a gasket trying to get you out of it.”

Doubtfully, she took the hanger off the rack to examine the negligee closer. She tried to picture herself in it, and failed. Just thinking about it made her feel awkward, shy, and stupid, none of which she typically felt, especially around Elias. He brought out the vixen—or the crocodile—in her. Not the blushing virgin.

Maybe that’s exactly Jesse’s point.

He stepped close enough to whisper. “Hold it up to you. Let me imagine you wearing it.” For me.

He didn’t say the last words out loud, but she heard the longing in his voice, the intent in his body. Could he be right? Would Elias like her in such a feminine, innocent-looking nightgown?

She held the negligee beneath her chin and watched Jesse’s eyes flare wider, darken to the mysterious lost-lagoon depths.

“If you think it’s too…”

“Virginal,” she said wryly.

His mouth quirked and he dipped his head. “Then wear something brazen beneath, like a see-through thong. Or better yet, nothing at all.”

She arched a brow at him in warning but he only smiled wider. “That reminds me. You need underwear and socks. Hmmm. I wonder what size you are?”

Since he was so close, it was easy enough to reach around his waist and slide her fingers down the back of his saggy jeans in search of the waistband tag.

Mistake. Huge. Because instead of cotton, her fingers met only bare skin.

“Jesse. You are not wearing any underwear.”

A muffled gasp drew her attention. A blushing, wide-eyed saleslady stared at them.

“No, ma’am.” Whispering, he dropped his head and allowed his shoulders to droop, that automatic, innate signal of surrender she recognized despite her refusals to ever consider learning more about the BDSM lifestyle as her brother urged. “Extras were a luxury, and I don’t mind going without.”

Glaring at the ogling saleslady, Vicki shoved her hand down further. Her index finger lodged between his cheeks, the rest of her hand cupping his buttock. Jesse quivered beneath her grip but otherwise didn’t move a muscle, while the saleslady flushed even darker and finally whirled to disappear down a side aisle.

She tried to keep her voice firm instead of sultry, but her voice sounded like she’d just slugged a flask of Jack Daniels. “I thought we agreed to no flirting.”

“Um, it’s your hand down my pants. Ma’am.”

She couldn’t help leaning into him, squeezing firmly, letting him feel how strong her hands were. She’d grown up on a ranch and although she had two older brothers, her parents had always believed in hard work for every single person in the family. “What did I tell you to call me?”

“I can’t,” he breathed short and fast. “If I say your name while you’re touching me like this, I might not be able to control myself.”

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Launch Vicki’s Line Contest

I need your help!

If you’ve been reading Vicki’s snippets the past few weeks, you know that she’s trying to launch her own fashion line in Dallas, TX.  I have the event planned for the unveiling, and I know exactly how she’ll promote the line on VCONN, Victor’s (her brother) risque cable channel that is featured in his book, Hurt Me So Good (unofficial title), but I have one big problem.

I don’t know the NAME of her line.

Is it just her name?  A special V?  I don’t think so.  The V is special to Victor, very crucial to his story, so I don’t want to over do it.  I want something special to VICKI, that’s allll hers.  It should help me tell her story and reveal another facet of her character.

Obviously, this name is very important, and so far, I’m drawing a blank. 

That’s where you guys come in.  After reading the snippets, what would you name Vicki’s fashion line? 

Comment on this post as many times as you like.  I’ll take each name and pool them together, and on April 1st, I’ll pick one for a prize: a signed copy of Dear Sir, I’m Yours, the beginning of the Connagher stories. 

If one of you really nails the line’s name and I end up using it in Vicki’s story, I’ll thank you in the dedication, assuming of course, that Vicki is someday contracted.  I’ll also give you a free e-copy of Victor’s book when it’s released, a signed copy of Victor’s print book when it’s released, and the same for Vicki’s book (again, assuming it’s contracted).  Whew!  Edited to add:  and of course, I’ll send you a signed copy of Dear Sir, I’m Yours, too, and hook you up with an electronic version if you don’t have it.

This contest is open to anyone on the planet, even if you’ve won something from me before.

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Friday Snippet: Vicki & Elias

This has to be the last snippet, gang, sorry.  To make it up to you, it’s a juicy one.  Sorry it’s late.  This whole week has gotten away from me.  I didn’t get anywhere near the word count I wanted, and our weekend is packed.  Sigh.  Hopefully next week will be better. 

Elias set her down long enough for him to shuck his pants, while she shed her clothes in record time. Then he slammed her up against the wall so hard the whole house shook.

By the quirk of his mouth, he knew damned well how that must have sounded to Jesse downstairs. “Condom?”

Breathless, she narrowed her eyes, tempted to tell him yes just to piss him off. She was on the pill, but they’d been broken up for more months than she cared to count. “Have you been with anyone else?”

“No.” Somehow, he managed to sound insulted. “I’m not the one with the hot cabana boy downstairs listening to our every groan.”

“I’m not the one who walked out on us, and no, if you’re curious, I haven’t been with anyone else either.”

She pushed the shirt the rest of the way off his shoulders, reveling in the sheer strength in his body. He wasn’t a big man, but he carried a wallop of power in his lean, six-foot-tall frame. He’d trained for years, so he knew exactly how to use every muscle. His neck and shoulders corded and flexed, effortlessly shifting her higher on the wall.

“No condom,” she whispered, winding her fingers in the short, dark hair at the base of his neck. “Just you, Spike.”

Half in play but also deadly serious, he snarled and snapped his teeth at her ear. He gripped her shoulder in his jaws, biting just this side of pain, and she couldn’t suppress the delicious shiver that rocked her body against his. With a brutal thrust, he shoved inside her so hard that a cry tore out of her throat and she cracked her skull on the wall.

He knew exactly what she liked; he knew how much she could take; and he certainly already knew how slick and wet she was for him. The only problem: it’d been too long for him, too. After just a few thrusts, he shuddered and poured into her.

Panic made her pulse flutter like a butterfly trapped in a glass. Need pounded inside her as strong as his thrusts, demanding, hammering for attention. Her skin felt raw, like she’d rolled around in glass and sharp rocks, swollen and so damned tight that she wanted to scream at him for finishing so quickly.

“Damn you,” she ground out, clawing his back hard enough he grunted and thudded inside her on another pulse. “You son of a bitch. God, I need you so bad. What am I supposed to do now? I hurt!”

He actually had the audacity to laugh. “You’re insatiable, Vik.”

Furious, desperate tears burned her eyes. He’d said she was like a hungry crocodile. Maybe he was tired of trying to keep her satisfied. Maybe that’s why she suddenly found herself attracted to two men. Fury, need, and shame twisted inside her. She shoved at his chest, threw her elbow at his throat, and the more he tried to contain her struggles, the harder she fought him.

In a smooth move they must teach at the police academy, he flipped her over and used his weight to pin her against the wall. Awkwardly, she flailed back at him with both arms, but he snagged first one wrist and then the other in the small of her back. The more she squirmed, the higher he pushed her arms until her muscles quivered and her shoulders burned with pain.

“I’ve got you, babe,” he whispered in a devilishly relaxed—fully satiated—voice. “You know I’ll take good, long, hard care of you.”

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Vicki Catches Jesse Peeping

I’ve slowed down on the snippets because the writing has slowed down too.  I finally finished the big sex scene, and then totally lost momentum.  Maybe I just needed a breather!  I’m still tapping away on the next chapter but it’s not going as well as I’d like.  I’m hoping to hit 30K by Sunday, but I’m nowhere near that right now.

This section immediately follows the last snippet I posted (Jesse ran toward the door like zombies were crawling out of the TV).

Warning: sexual content, voyeurism.

Not a moment too soon, because she slammed into Elias and attacked his shirt. He’d left his tie and jacket in the truck, but he couldn’t remember if he had any spare clothes here. Jerking at the button on her jeans, he bit her bottom lip so hard her breath hissed out, spurring her to yank harder.

“Watch the shirt, babe. I have to show up for work tomorrow without looking like I was mugged.”

A button tinged on the wall. “I’ll make you a new one.”

He jammed his hand down the front of her jeans, wincing at the zipper digging into his skin, but he couldn’t slow down. He had to stroke her, see how turned on she was, how quickly she came at his touch. It’d tell him a lot about how much she’d missed him.

She rolled her hips, squirming against him, helping him work his fingers deeper, past the satin, hooking his finger beneath…

“Yes,” he growled out against her ear. “You’re so wet and hot you’re going to come…now,” he finished, a bit surprised. He hadn’t meant it as a command, but she shuddered, groaning deep in her throat.

Her cry of pleasure rose in intensity, her hunger flaming higher. Tightening her arms around his neck, she hopped up against him, forcing him catch her with his free arm while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Hurry,” she moaned, but then she stiffened in his arms, just a moment, and he wondered if she was going to come again so quickly. He buried a finger inside her and she shuddered, her voice rising, wild and desperate. “Elias, please!”

He started for her bedroom, but a soft noise made him hesitate. It sounded like a low moan. He whipped his head around as the door snicked shut. Damn that punk. If he’d thought to watch the show…

“I need you,” she whispered, thrusting and stroking her tongue in his ear, her breath hot and frantic, and Elias forgot to care.

#

Leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, Jesse struggled to calm his breathing. She’d looked at him over the cop’s shoulder. She’d seen him standing there, jeans gaping open to ease the misery, jerking in climax. If the cop had turned around and seen him indecently exposed, he’d probably be a gelding.

A muffled thump, a low, hard voice, and Jesse felt the stirring in his groin all over again. He stumbled down the stairs, washed his hands, and cleaned up the mess as quickly as possible. Then he stripped naked, stretched out on the bed she’d given him, and stared up at the ceiling.

The thumps were louder. Yes, he’d been right. Her bedroom was directly above. He closed his eyes and imagined how the cop was making love to her. Not the bed, not yet. They’d been too urgent to make it that far.

Jesse scrambled to his knees and planted his hands on the wall above the headboard. Yes, against the wall, vibrating with their passion. Braced on his knees, he imagined her pressed against his back, stroking his chest and stomach, lingering, playing low on his belly while she laughed huskily in his ear.

When she screamed, he would be the one rocking the bed.

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Vicki: Elias Comes Home

This is a little heavy on backstory and introspection, which might be cut in revision, but I need to make sure Elias is more than an asshole. At least sometimes. 

😉

Elias slipped his seldom-used key into her locked door and eased it open. Why so stealthily, he hated to admit. It made him feel sneaky and mean, hoping to catch her in a compromising position, and also sick to his stomach at the thought. He didn’t know if he could really face that reality. He could talk about it, even joke about it, but if he saw her having sex with another man, it might be the last breath that bastard would ever take.

Even if that man was Jesse, who managed to give off that helpless victim vibe that must have drawn the vilest perps in Dallas.

Elias knew he had no right to claim her sole affections, not after abandoning her these past months. Frustrated rage at his job had simmered over into his personal life. When Donnie had been killed, Elias could only picture himself lying dead in the street. He’d like to think that maybe he’d wanted to protect her from ever ending up a sobbing widow leaning over his coffin, but he couldn’t lie to himself.

Her client had blown his partner away.

She’d only being doing her job, that just happened to run counter to his. But she didn’t have to do it so f*cking well.

So he’d taken his rage out on her, even though he knew it was stupid. He knew he’d been a prick. She was a strong woman and she could carry a hell of a lot, but that didn’t make it right for him to dump the blame on her shoulders. Especially when I carry Donnie’s death on my back, too.

It would serve him right if she’d moved on and found another man. A man who didn’t work himself to death in case a drug dealer didn’t get to him first. Or a kid who worships the ground she walks on because she saved him.

The lights were off but the television was playing one of those ridiculous black-and-white zombie movies she loved so much. Two heads were visible above the couch, although Jesse’s was low and tucked into her neck more than Elias cared to see. Nothing suspicious was going on; they were just watching a movie.

Doubt ate away at him. She’d been so upset, so desperate earlier when they’d talked on the phone. Maybe they’d already done the deed hours ago. Instead of serving dinner, maybe she’d taken Jesse on top of the table.

Elias knew full well that she was a passionate woman. The kid was so eager and desperate to belong to her, that God only knew how far he’d pushed her. Elias couldn’t even bring himself to blame him. He’d do a hell of a lot to keep her himself, even if the last few months hadn’t proven how much he cared about her.

He shut the door quietly, but her head whipped around. Her eyes met his, and he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she hadn’t found release in anyone else’s arms. Not by the fire in her eyes. He swore the temperature in the room spiked twenty degrees.

Beside her, Jesse uncurled, stretching like a sleepy cat.

Elias forced himself to move slowly instead of falling on her like a starving wolf. Methodically, he stashed his gun and badge in the bolted-down safe he’d installed in her coat closet once they got serious. Shutting the door, he turned and raked his eyes over her as she stood. She wore jeans and a soft sweater instead of a slinky gown or low-cut blouse, but it was all he could do not to bury his hands in that cotton and rip his way into her lush body.

She stalked toward Elias, her eyes glittering, her body simmering that siren call of need. Need for him. Eyes only for him. Despite the handsome younger man hovering warily at her back.

Trying not to be an asshole, at least this time, he said, “Get your butt downstairs, Jesse.”

The kid shot toward the door like zombies had started crawling out of the TV.

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Vicki and Jesse’s Agreement

I wouldn’t want to start you off this Monday without a nice steamy visit with Vicki. 😉 

The actual “deed” implied in this snippet took me days to finish.  Finally wrapped it up tonight.  *whew, I’m exhausted!!* 

Next scene to write:  Vicki stops by VCONN for a little talk with Victor!

Warning: sexual innuendo but no actual congress.  *winks*

[Vicki:] “We are so not going there. We can’t. I want to give you time—”

I’ve had time on the streets. I’ve done time in prison. I don’t need time to know that I love you.”

I need time. I can’t say that I want to protect you, and then take advantage of you.” In desperation, she added, “Elias is spending the night, and this time, he won’t be on the couch.”

Jesse’s eyes only darkened more and he edged closer. “Can I watch?”

No!” She shuddered at the thought. Elias would probably bust a vein in his forehead if she’d even thought to ask him. “Absolutely not.”

Groaning, he dropped his head to her shoulder. “Please, Vicki, I’m dying. Give me something. Anything. Can I at least come when you do?”

She opened her mouth to retort that he could come whenever the hell he wanted, but she couldn’t say it. She stood there, mouth open, eyes wide, dumbstruck by the surge of pure power and primal lust that crashed through her. She liked the idea of controlling his release. Making him wait. Giving him a word, a simple caress, and watching his mouth fall open, his eyes blaze, while he pumped at her command.

Oh,” he breathed out in a soft whisper, raising his head to search her face, his eyes as wide as hers. “You like that idea. While he’s inside you, think of me downstairs, tangled in the sheets, sweating and rock-hard while I listen, begging to hear your cry of release. No matter how much I hurt, I won’t touch myself. All it’ll take is your voice, your scream, and I’ll explode. Yes? Please?”

She swallowed hard and tried to slow down her breathing before she hyperventilated. “On one condition.”

Anything.”

You back down on the flirting until I get my head wrapped around this. Okay?”

Wrapped around you and me?”

And me and Elias.”

Yes’m.” Jesse smiled and tipped his head in a nod. “Is he a good lover?”

She remembered Elias’s threat-promise: We’re going to be loud, babe. “Oh, yeah. It might get rather…rowdy.”

Good.” Jesse smiled, his eyes sultry and lazy. “I can’t wait for him to arrive.”